The Road Not Taken
by Red Witch
Summary: Commander Walsh gets a glimpse into what his life might have been like when he investigates a past project.


**The disclaimer saying that I don't own any Galaxy Ranger characters has taken off down the old dusty trail. This here is a very strange idea I just popped into my head. What if there was more to one or two minor characters than meets the eye? **

**The Road Not Taken**

Cain you bastard. I almost had you.

Once again you outfoxed me.

It all started when Ranger Hartford called a meeting in my office between myself and the other Galaxy Rangers. "Commander Walsh how would you like an early birthday present?" He smiled.

"This should be interesting," I raised an eyebrow.

"Ever hear of a project called Eve 13?" Doc asked.

"I should since I authorized it," Memories of the past hit me but I shut them down. "Hartford you better have a good reason why you went into my private files…"

"I didn't," Doc smiled. "I went into Cain's private files. Well before I got shut out that is."

"Hartford I'm going to pretend I did not hear that," I said. "And I am also going to reprimand you for unauthorized access to military secrets. You did a bad thing. Don't do it again. There. I reprimanded you. What did you get?"

"Maybe you should explain exactly what this Project Eve 13 is?" Shane asked.

"Have you ever heard of the geneticist Dr. Robert Dahl?" I asked. "Although he was not on the initial Supertrooper project much of our work there was based on his experiments and findings."

"He created more patents for genetically engineered animals than any scientist before him," Niko added. "And some of his research helped cure some forms of cancer."

"About twelve years ago the Board Of Leaders decided to authorize the creation of one last Supertrooper but with different engineers," Walsh said. "I convinced Dahl to work on it at his private lab. However shortly before the Supertrooper was decanted there was some sort of accident. Dahl and the project were destroyed in the fire."

"I remember hearing about that on the news," Zach thought. "So what did you find Doc?"

"Besides the files that Cain had that showed he wasn't supposed to have?" I growled.

"I had a few hunches so I played them," Doc said. "Three days before the accident Dahl transferred a great sum of money from his personal account into a private account in Commander Cain's name."

"You found that in Cain's files?" Shane asked.

"No, I found that in Dahl's old bank files," Doc said. "That was information given to me by…a friend of a friend. What I did find was some old surveillance from Dahl's lab that showed Cain visited him there a few times. I got that from the security company which was get this, had Commander Cain on it's board of trustees before it disbanded a year later. In fact, this 'security company' seems to only exist for this one particular project."

"Pretty suspicious seeing that Cain wasn't supposed to have clearance for this project," I frowned.

"Wait, what exactly did you find in Cain's files to make you look for this stuff in the first place?" Niko asked Doc.

"Basically it was a smash and grab job," Doc explained it simply. "Uh only without the smashing. All I got was that file and the way it was labeled so I used every possible angle I could think of to analyze the problem."

"What do you mean the way it was labeled?" I asked.

"I grabbed a file saying: Reason Why Walsh is A Jerk Number 56," Doc shrugged. "And got out before the security program shut me down. I was lucky I wasn't caught."

"Lucky for all of us," I grumbled.

"I also found something else," Doc said. "That same security company was the one who pronounced Dahl dead. No doctors. You know what that means?"

"Meaning Dahl could still be alive…" I realized. "And in Cain's pocket."

"We can't exactly use this evidence such as it is," Zach grunted. "Even if part of it wasn't illegally obtained. But it's a lead. And it's better than nothing."

I should have known it wouldn't be that easy.

To make a long story short the Rangers couldn't find anything. The trail had grown too cold. It was if Dahl had literally dropped off the face of the universe. Cain had covered his tracks too well. We'd never find Dahl.

Then fate decided to intervene.

Rangers Foxx, Hartford, Niko and Gooseman were tracking an alien smuggling ring that were also trying to capture some humans for the Queen of the Crown. They had made a stop on the Planet Nebraska. The Rangers had not only stopped them from taking any humans to the Queen. They had not only captured the smugglers but also rescued several aliens including a small handful of Gurkins.

I had taken a battle cruiser to not only transfer the criminals there but to personally escort the freed Gurkins to the safe planet where the rest of their hunted species was currently hiding. "I'd thought the League had all of the surviving Gurkins hidden," I told Ranger Niko when I landed.

"There are always one or two splinter groups that had been hiding," Niko explained to me. "And I see they weren't the only ones hiding."

"I like hiding!" Bubblehead had perched on my shoulder.

"He followed me," I grumbled. "Wanted to see Goose and drive me insane. But it is good about the Gurkins."

"I know," Zach sighed as he walked up to us. "The Queen has decimated their race to such a degree than even one or two saved is a blessing. Niko could you check on them while I take the Commander to meet Sheriff Ladd. He was instrumental in helping us catch the smugglers."

Niko nodded and I walked with Foxx to the Sheriff's office. There we saw an eleven year old girl with strawberry blonde hair in pigtails and a brown dress playing with a green dragon technopet.

"Hey! How's it going?" Bubblehead flew to the little dragon.

"Fine! You're a technopet like me!" The little dragon said in a happy voice.

"I am?" Bubblehead blinked. "Okay!"

"It seems Bubblehead has made a friend," Zach said in an amused voice.

"You're a real live Commander!" The girl's green eyes widened. "Wow! You're a real important person aren't you?"

"Well yes," I grunted, rather amused by the child.

"Is that your bird?" Amy petted Bubblehead.

"No, Bubblehead belongs to Ranger Gooseman," Zach told the child.

"He just follows me around and annoys me," I grunted.

"Hello," Bubblehead chirped. "I'm Bubblehead! Have you seen my Goose? He gets lost without me!"

"I know how you feel," The little dragon chirped. "I'm Pinkwing and this is my human Amy."

"Pinkwing?" I raised an eyebrow, especially since the dragon didn't have a trace of pink on it. It was completely green.

"Well my Dad tried to find a pink dragonfly technopet for my birthday but they're almost impossible to find this side of the frontier," Amy smiled. "He thought he ordered me a pink one but when I got it he was green. But I loved him the first moment I saw him so I named him Pinkwing."

"Is your father inside?" I asked, feeling a little out of my depth. I always felt a little uneasy around children.

"Yup! And he's with Ranger Gooseman and Ranger Hartford!" Amy smiled with pride. "Did you know my Daddy helped catch some real bad guys?"

"Yes that's why we're here," I pulled myself up to my full height. "Shall we?"

"Goody! Goose! Oh Goose!" Bubblehead flew in. "Doc! Doc! Doc! Goose!"

"What are **you** doing here feathers for brains?" Goose was surprised. He wasn't the only one.

I knew there was something familiar about Ladd the moment I laid eyes on him. His eyes and the way he stood reminded me of someone. And the moment he spoke I could tell who he was. I knew that soft spoken Southern voice all too well.

"Gooseman…" I said in a crisp tone. "Why don't you send your **bird **outside to play with the child? We have some important things to discuss."

Shane picked up something was wrong right away. He knew me well but hid his concern. I could see it in his eyes. "Can I really play with Bubblehead?" Amy asked excitedly.

"Go ahead and play with him," Shane waved. "Bubblehead loves playing games!"

"Yeah! Tag! I'm it!" Bubblehead chirped as he flew out the door. Amy and her dragon followed.

Once I was sure they were gone I turned to Ladd. "Ladd? Is that what you call yourself now? Did you really think you could hide from me forever? Don't act so surprised. Your face may be changed but I'd know that voice and the way you stand anywhere."

"Joseph…" Ladd sighed. "I can explain…"

"Explain what? Robert we were friends for nearly twenty years before your so called 'death'!" I snapped. "Why did you do it? Why did you betray your government?"

"It's not that simple Joseph!" Ladd protested. "Please listen to me!"

"What's going on Commander?" Doc asked.

"Hartford, you remember that little mystery of Project Eve 13? I believe it's been solved," I growled.

"You're Dahl," Zach realized. "And the project you stole was…?" His eyes drifted to the girl's picture on the sheriff's desk.

"Amy is not a project!" Ladd shouted. "She's a little girl. My little girl."

"What happened?" Shane asked.

"I was supposed to design a different type of Supertrooper," Ladd sighed as he sunk in a chair. "A tactician and master spy instead of a full soldier. But I was given very little materials that were suitable for the job. In a moment of desperation…I used some of my own DNA to create her. But just before she was born…As I watched her grow in her gestation tube…I knew I had made a mistake. I couldn't go through with it. My DNA was inside of her. She was my child. I didn't care what I had to do. I had to save her."

"So you made a deal with Cain to fake your death and the destruction of the project?" I realized.

"Actually I had already done a favor for Cain and he owed me," Ladd sighed. "Not to mention I gave him a huge sum of money. I even paid for a plastic surgeon to change my face so no one would recognize me. I had papers faked about my new name, birth date and even a fake marriage and death certificate for her mother."

"So who's in the picture?" Doc asked. He picked up another picture of an young woman, presumably there to be Amy's mother.

"That is a computer composite of what Amy will look like when she grows up," Ladd smiled sadly. "I even surgically gave her a navel so she wouldn't stand out. It was the last surgery I ever performed. After that I threw away my life as a doctor forever."

"So how did you end up as a lawman?" Shane asked.

"I came into the job when a friend of mine couldn't do it any more," Ladd smiled wistfully. "It's a small town and very little happens around here. Plus I was always in reasonable shape."

"Not to mention the **last **place most people would look for a renegade scientist and a Supertrooper," I growled.

"She's not a Supertrooper! She never was!" Ladd protested. "She was raised as a normal human child all her life!"

"She has bio-defenses doesn't she?" I said.

"They're dormant," Ladd told me. "For the most part. She's never really been sick but other than that…Please Commander, she's no use to you. She's not a solider or a spy. Just a little girl. I traded in my life so she could have one. Please don't take that away from her."

The Rangers looked at me in shock. They couldn't believe what was happening.

What could I do?

Dahl had everything but threw it all away for the sake of one child.

I threw away my child to keep everything.

I was not going to make the same mistake twice.

"Hartford…" I let out a breath. "I want you to change those files. And I want you to confirm the complete destruction of Project Eve 13. Dr. Dahl and that project are dead. I intend for it to stay that way."

"Thank you Joseph," Ladd breathed a sigh of relief. "I'll try to leave town by…"

"There's no need for that," Zach said quickly. "We're the only ones who know your secret and we won't tell anyone. Besides, you're a good lawman. This town needs you. And it's Amy's home."

"There's no need for her to know…" Shane said. "To know about her past. But if you are ever in trouble…"

"I knew what you were a long time ago," Ladd gave him a look. "I watched you fight that goon of Laramie's. I figured out what you and he were. I believe if I ever do need help…If the worst ever does happen…"

"I'll protect her," Shane said softly. "I promise."

Ladd nodded. Shane went outside. "I guess I don't need to tell any of you that this information never leaves this room," I grunted. "I still can't understand why you didn't come to me."

As soon as the words left my lips I felt the hypocrisy of them. I knew I would have simply taken the child and turned her into a weapon. But I pretended to be shocked.

"I guess I felt you wouldn't understand," Ladd sighed. "Your work was everything to you Joseph. I was afraid…Afraid you would take her away from me."

Damn it Ladd you know me too well.

We finished up our business and I walked outside with Hartford and Foxx. "You did the right thing Commander," Zachery told me.

"Like Ladd said, the girl is useless to us as a soldier," I said gruffly. "No point in uprooting her from her life. I can't believe what he did though."

"What choice did he have?" Zach asked. "What kind of monster **deliberately** lets his own child become a living weapon?"

Those words cut me to the core. I knew then if Captain Foxx had ever found out what I had done, not only would he lose all respect for me…He'd hate me for life.

And I couldn't blame him.

How different would Shane's life had been if I **had** done what Ladd did?

Would he have been happy? Would he have made friends and not grown up so isolated and full of rage?

Would he have become a lawman or something else?

Then I saw Shane casually talking to Amy. I motioned to the other two rangers that I would join them shortly. I cautiously walked up to them. I may not be a Supertrooper but I can walk pretty quietly when I have to."

"You knew I was a Supertrooper?" I heard Shane said.

"I heard Daddy talking about it when he thought I wasn't listening," Amy shrugged. "I don't usually spy on Daddy but I just happened to hear him say something that day you fought the man with the fire eyes. And I saw you fight the fire man. You had the same powers he did."

"For a moment yeah," Shane sighed. "You see if I absorb an energy attack I can touch my badge and then I can use the exact same powers my attacker uses on me."

"So you can change into a lot of stuff?" Amy asked.

"Yup."

"Like what?"

"Well," He seemed to think. "I can change to metal, or stone, or fire, or energy…A couple of times I was a bug."

"Weird," Amy scrunched her nose.

"Yeah it was real weird," Shane smirked. "Made me never want to step on an ant again. I also can breathe underwater."

"That's amazing!" Amy gasped. "Can you fly too?"

"No," Shane shook his head. "But I can glide if I have too. Then again I never really tried to fly."

"I can fly! Wheeee!" Bubblehead flew around.

"That must be so amazing to change into all sorts of things and fly around into outer space!" Amy smiled. "You can go all over the galaxy and see all sorts of amazing things."

"Yeah but…My life still isn't as good as yours is," Shane smiled. "Actually I'm kind of jealous of you."

"You're jealous of **me?**" She seemed surprised.

"Yup," Shane nodded. "You're lucky to have a father who loves you and takes care of you and just wants you to be happy and safe. And a nice home with a large field you can run and play in. Sometimes…Sometimes I wish I had that growing up."

I felt another bit of my heart shatter hearing that.

"You didn't have a father?" She asked.

"Supertroopers don't have families…" Shane said with a sadness in his voice I had never heard before. "We weren't…allowed to."

"Why?" She asked.

"We just weren't," Shane shrugged. "We were supposed to be soldiers, nothing else."

"Oh," Amy said simply.

"Amy, the man with the fire eyes…" Shane said. "And the woman he was with, did they ever come back?"

"Nope they disappeared the day you ran them out of town," Amy told him. "The fire eyed man…Is he one of you?"

Shane nodded sadly. "If he ever comes back stay out of his way," Shane told him. "He's not right in the head."

"Don't worry I will," Amy nodded. "But that lady he was with…She didn't seem so bad."

"Just stay away from both of them," Shane told her, finally noticing me. "And if any Supertroopers come to town I want you to get your Daddy to contact the Galaxy Rangers. Understand?"

"Okay," She nodded. She then looked at him. "Goose if you're a Supertrooper, why aren't you like them?"

"I was…created differently," Shane shrugged.

"Goose is the only Supertrooper I know that has developed human emotions like compassion and honor," I stepped in.

"So you just have different programming than the others?" Pinkwing spoke up.

"I guess you could call it that," Shane seemed to think.

"Gooseman, we need to go," I said gruffly.

"All right," Shane nodded. "Amy there's one more thing I want you to do for me."

"What's that?"

"Be a happy normal little girl who loves her daddy," He smiled. "Come on Bubblehead."

"Bye bye!" Bubblehead flew away. "Ooh! I gotta go see Doc and see if he has my nachos!" He flew ahead. Shane and I walked away.

"Thank you…" Shane said softly when we were a good distance away.

"For what?" I looked at him, surprised.

"For not turning them in," Shane looked at me with gratitude in his eyes. "At least one of us will grow up with a family and happy."

I was stunned. Shane seemed to understand me better than I knew myself sometimes.

He put his hand on my shoulder and gave it a light squeeze. "We'll get Cain some other way. It doesn't matter."

Yes, it does Shane.

The truth is Cain is a better man than I am.

True, he is an immoral, money grubbing power craving maniac but in this case…

In this case he was more of a man than I was.

But I couldn't do anything but nod.

Yet another secret in my life that must stay with me to the grave.

How many more must I make before they bury me completely?


End file.
